The Victim's Charter:Citizens as Consumers of Criminal Justice Services

Abstract

The Citizen'a Charter characterised citizenship primarily in terms of consumer rights, and in doing so failed to take account of the complexity of the issue. Further over‐simplification occurred when this limited conception of citizenship was extended to victims of crime. The Victim's Charter attempts to define crime victims as consumers of criminal justice service, and in the process conceals some of the choices which are open to them and guides them away from collective action. The Charter has instead promoted the pursuit of managerialist objectives such as increased regulation of the criminal justice professions by their service users, for example by raising victims' expectations of services without negotiating this with service providers or providing the necessary resources. In the process, services to offenders have had to be cut, and central government has been able to dissociate itself from the consequences.

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